It's Time for a Resume Refresh

What up what up!! Writing this newsletter from a very rainy (not surprising) day here in Nashville and getting prepped for SXSW in Austin! If anyone has been to Austin recently I need your best coffee and taco recs. Last time I went, I went to Vera Cruz 10/10 would recommend and Try Hard Coffee which is now my favorite coffee spot in Austin! Also, if you live in Austin or near Austin I am doing a developer lunch. Nothing official just come as you are and hang with folks so let me know if you want in! I am also in the process of bringing my Notion page to my Beehiiv newsletter because you can search for everything in Beehiiv! So today’s is how you write a resume…good. Lol

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Today we’re going back in time to a convo I had with my friend Jean Leggett. Here’s some of the main advice we have on how to organize and make your resume actually stand out to hiring managers.

Why keep doing things the same way and expecting different results.

Sending out your resume and not getting any interviews or call backs? Maybe it’s time to make some changes. Step One: you need to make it easy for hiring managers to see your potential within 6-8 seconds. That’s right, seconds. That means if you hide the perfect kernel of info needed from your skill set on page 3, no one is going to see that. So why waste potential doing things chronologically? Lay it all out there for them in order of importance. Jean suggests using the VIP non-chronological method:

• V- Validation

  • Defining expertise that you would be hired for

• I- Integration

  • How you’ve used these skills; your strategy and execution

• P- People

  • How you’re going to fit this into the team

Our resumes are our unapologetic brag sheet.

You should feel amazing about your skills and talents. It’s not bragging if it’s true. Just make sure you put them in the most efficient order. And you don’t have to reinvent the wheel here, folks. The actual job posting is a great place to pull and reword content to make sure your resume hits all the points a hiring manager is looking for. Expert level: identify the top three pain points in the job posting and make sure you highlight your solutions in your cover letter.

Turn ‘soft skills’ into bold statements.

No hiring manager wants to see the phrase, “Great communicator.” Plus it’s a wasted opportunity to talk about your achievements. Try subbing these short phrases out with specific examples.

great communicator = managed a team of 50 people on projects 12-18 months in duration with a budget of 4 million

This isn’t casual, this is a job interview.

Prepare. Your resume is just the Cliffs Notes version of your career, right? You need to be fully ready, line by line, to expand and tell a story for each item you’ve listed. Curate and practice a prepared story, because there’s a 97% chance the hiring manager will ask the most open ended question of all time, “so tell me about yourself…” Don’t stress, just impress.

Feeling inspired to revisit your resume? Good.

Don’t forget, you’re not alone.

-Taylor

gun.io/taylor